Compact fuel cell power plants capable of producing up to 10 kW of power can have many areas of appllication in today's world. Such power plants can be made portable so as to be able to supply electrical power for vehicles, such as vans, trailers, boats or the like. Such compact power plants could also be used as emergency generators at such times when conventional electrical power sources are inoperative. Further fields of use for such compact fuel cell power plants include military and remote site installations.
It will be appreciated that small fuel cell power plants of the aforesaid nature will best use a raw fuel which is not exotic, can be easily stored and transported and is relatively inexpensive. One such fuel which can be converted to a hydrogen-enriched fuel gas for use in fuel cells is methanol. Raw methanol can be catalytically converted, with application of heat, to a hydrogen-enriched fuel gas for a fuel cell of the character described.